S&P affirms India’s sovereign rating; outlook stable

New Delhi, May 18

S&P Global Ratings on Thursday affirmed India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB-’ with a stable outlook and said sound economic fundamentals will underpin growth over the next 2-3 years.

The stable outlook on the long-term rating reflects S&P’s view that India’s strong economy and healthy revenue growth will support its weak fiscal settings.

“S&P Global Ratings affirmed its ‘BBB-’ long-term and ‘A-3’ short-term unsolicited foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on India. The outlook on the long-term rating is stable,” the US-based agency said in a statement.

‘BBB-’ is the lowest investment grade rating.

“India’s economy is performing well amid challenging global conditions. We anticipate sound fundamentals to underpin growth over the next two to three years,” S&P said.

The government will likely maintain elevated fiscal deficits and a large debt stock despite ongoing consolidation efforts, it added.

Earlier this month, another global rating agency Fitch had affirmed India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB-’ with a stable outlook, citing robust growth and resilient external finances.